Hawks notes

With Brent Seabrook recovered from a concussion, the Hawks had seven defensemen in their lineup for the first time, using Jordan Hendry up front instead of making the usual call-up of a winger from Rockford. Hendry had played in three previous games but strictly as a D-man. Hendry was needed on the blue line, though, as Niklas Hjalmarsson was injured after getting hit by a puck in the first minute of the second period. Hjalmarsson went to the locker room for treatment but was back on the ice before the period was over.

Jonathan Toews, still recovering from a concussion, didn’t make the trip and missed his third straight game. He isn’t likely to play in tonight’s home game against Montreal either because he didn’t skate Thursday.

The Hawks’ previous two games with Nashville did wonders for goalie Cristobal Huet’s confidence. He had struggled in starts against Calgary and Colorado but worked himself out of a potential slump with 3-1 and 2-0 wins over the Predators. ‘‘I never felt out of a groove,’’ Huet said. ‘‘I just didn’t have the results I wanted. But those were good games for me, something I could build on to get my confidence and everybody else’s.’’ Huet, though, won’t declare himself confident just yet. ‘‘I’m careful of the words I’m using,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s one shot at a time. That’s how I’m approaching it.’’

Because of back-to-back scheduling, it’s likely rookie Antti Niemi will start in goal against Montreal, one of Huet’s former teams. ‘‘It’s fun playing against Canadian teams, especially Montreal with me having played there three years,’’ Huet said. ‘‘But it’s definitely more fun when you win those games.’’

Niemi was tied for ninth-best goals-against average in the NHL (2.07) entering Thursday’s games.

The Hawks went into Thursday’s game leading the NHL in three categories: best home record (5-2, tied with five others), power-play ranking on the road (5-for-12, 41.7 percent) and fewest shots allowed per game (22.3, more than four fewer than nearest-rival Phoenix at 26.5).

In an unusual bit of scheduling, the Hawks faced Nashville for the third time in 15 days, and they’ll meet three more times in December. The Central Division rivals will be done playing each other — at least in the regular season — after their meeting at the United Center on Dec. 27.